14 November 2018 — Shamel Aboul Fadl, Founder and Chairman of Compass, a leading private equity firm, joined senior Merger and Acquisitions and Private Equity professionals to discuss Egypt’s M&A outlook, opportunities & challenges for PE investors amid a mood of confidence in the Egyptian economy post the structural reforms.

“The courageous set of economic reforms implemented by the Egyptian government has re-positioned Egypt as a regional investment hub; the robust growth in the economy has been driven by the different set of reforms ranging from legislative reforms to floating of the Egyptian pound yield results and increase global investors’ interest in Egypt”, said Shamel Aboul Fadl, Founder and Chairman of Compass.

“What is unique about our strategy is that Compass is a very active investor with a team that takes a hands-on approach with the portfolio companies based on genuine understanding of the industry and the area of expertise of the respective team member. Compass chooses not to take a stake and sit back and hope for the best; it actively manages its investment and participates in proficient decision-making with portfolio company management team to reflect market challenges and remain agile” Aboul Fadl continued.

“Compass acts as a catalyst for growth for the companies in which it invests by helping them face the different challenges that come with growth be it commercial, operational, technological, financial or related to human resources and expertise. The diverse background experience of Compass’s partners and investment professionals allows us to identify areas of innovation and value creation for our investments”, added Aboul Fadl.

Compass was established in May 2010 and its first acquisition, Rameda, a pharmaceutical manufacturing company, was completed one week before the January 25^th, 2011 Revolution. Despite political and economic turbulence during the couple of years following the revolution, the active and agile investment strategy has effectively supported its the company to transform and develop. Rameda has shown growth in its EBITDA close to 15 times since acquisition. It is worth mentioning that Compass has completed investment cycles for Beltone Financial Holding, Beltone Information Technology and CI Capital.

The one-day conference included long sessions focusing on Egypt’s Merger and Acquisition deal outlook, how the stabilization of the Egyptian pound is impacting M&A, key investing opportunities in Healthcare and education, issues facing local private equity firms and international investors’ interest in North Africa. Guests included key figures from the private equity, venture capital and investment banks as well as leading law and accounting firms.

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Compass Capital is a leading private equity firm focusing on value investing. The firm’s multi-disciplinary team has a long and successful track record of generating attractive investment returns having successfully executed numerous transactions requiring capital flexibility, financial restructuring, and operational turnaround. Compass follows a disciplined investment approach that hinges on defining strategic initiatives, agile implementation of strategy, supporting talented management, and providing required growth capital to drive growth. The company is a principal investor in its own transactions and actively works to ensure that the interests of all stakeholders are aligned in the investments it pursues.